File photo by Rick EpsteinTelling the Franklin Township Land Use Board about his plans for a 97-acre solar installation is David denHollander, owner of Garden State Growers.

FRANKLIN TWP. — A judge denied a request to dismiss a suit against Quaker Valley Farms so the matter is headed to trial.

Owned by David denHollander, Quaker Valley Farms (also known as Garden State Growers) filed a motion asking Judge Peter Buchsbaum to reconsider a ruling he made last August and dismiss the suit. Argument was heard on Friday, March 22, and the motion was denied.

On Aug. 8, Judge Buchsbaum ruled in favor of the state Agricultural Development Committee (SADC), which argued that Quaker Valley Farms wrongfully excavated 14 acres of preserved farmland to build greenhouses. During the process, top soil was mixed with subsoil and rocks, therefore diminishing the soil's potential for growing crops, the SADC argued.

According to the state, the land at issue was not only protected by deed-restriction, but rated as prime agricultural land — land capable of supporting such field crops as corn, wheat, oats, hay, barley and soy beans — when denHollander had it leveled and excavated in 2007. The state sued after determining, via a 2008 assessment by a team of experts, that the qualities that made the land ideal for farming had been destroyed, and that remediation would be required to attempt to restore the land to its prior state.

The only matter left is to come up with a remedy for the 14 acres of once prime farmland that was destroyed. The state did not seek financial damages in its suit so another solution must be determined. A trial is scheduled for April 29.

The township, county, area environmental groups and denHollander have been at odds for 15 years over the operations and expansion of his greenhouse and nursery businesses. Since 2008 alone, four lawsuits have been filed between the township, the county and/or the state, and denHollander.

In its original suit, the SADC alleged that methods used by Quaker Valley Farms to prepare the preserved land for hoop houses violated New Jersey law, as well as the farm’s deed of easement restricting any activity that would be detrimental to soil conservation or continued agricultural use.

The court found that the excavation and grading project at Quaker Valley Farms damaged the soil quality at the farm and the land’s future capacity for farming. The court also found that Quaker Valley violated the Agriculture Retention and Development Act and State rules prohibiting the destruction of preserved farmland, as well as the deed restriction on the property.

In 1993, the state and county paid $402,682 to Harold and Rosalie Mathews to preserve the farm in question. In 1996 they got approval from the County Agricultural Development Board (CADB) to sell some of the land to denHollander. Language on more recent preservation deeds requires that such work not prevent the future use of the farm "for a variety of agricultural uses," but the Mathews agreement only requires "continued farm use," county counsel Gaetano DeSapio told the board in 2007.

That year, denHollander began leveling the land to erect hoop-framed greenhouses. He argued that greenhouses constituted an agricultural use and was therefore allowed on preserved land. The county and state argued that destroying the quality of the soil is not allowed. The value of the land was determined by the quality of the soil.

In 2008 the township sued denHollander and his businesses. In 2009, the Franklin Township Board of Health filed a suit. At issue were zoning violations and issues regarding the septic system. Both of those suits were settled in June 2011.

Also in 2009 denHollander filed suit against a long list of people who allegedly ruined his reputation by passing along false information.

That suit was dismissed against most defendants and settled between the rest.

According to its website, Garden State Growers has about 500 acres of property, with 27 acres of greenhouse structures and 158 acres of outdoor production. Its plant portfolio includes perennials, annuals, ground cover and mums. Garden State Grower's main focus is large retailers — such as "big box" stores — and it also sells to garden centers, cemeteries, supermarkets and smaller stores.